A NEW YEAR'S WISH FOR YOU

What are you so interested in/longing for, like this little boy? Is it your family? Wealth? Your lost  youth? Your skinniness? (Oh how I wish I were as thin, as when I was a teenager, and though I was fat.) What do you long for, wish for, hope and pray for? 

I hope you can find peace and fulfillment for whatever it is. 

One of the things I long for--almost every day--is my mom. To have that wish fulfilled I'd have to die. I'm putting that wish on hold for a while. 

Can you achieve your longings-for-wish by something you can do? 

So do it. 

I will too. 

My New Year's resolutions this year are: Live so I have no regrets and learn to really listen to the still small voice (the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.)

PS This little boy (our Grandson, William) was watching for his dad, who was packing the car to go home--they had been here for 4 days over the Christmas holiday. William would not leave his post. (He even had a water bottle in case the wait was long.) I don't know if he thought his dad would disappear if he left the door or not, but he was faithful to the end. 

Then they loaded everyone in the car--Mom, Dad, William, Emmett and two dogs--and left. 

I cried. 

I WISH YOU ENOUGH

This blog post is dedicated to Terri, whose mother died this week.

This came in an email today. I'm sorry I can't give credit to the originator. Here it is:

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough.. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more.. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them..' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

MY SISTER HAS BEEN MARRIED 50 YEARS

My sister and her husband have been married for fifty years. Last night her kids and grandkids threw them a surprise party. They have flown in from Virginia to Hawaii and everywhere in between. It was very nice. I took a few photos and now it has been confirmed. My photography skills are ZERO. There isn't one photo that I am proud of. I'm sorry to post all these lousy ones but it's all I have.

Coming in the door at the church

cultural center. Surprise! Their oldest

son, Jordan, ushered them in,

telling them that the grandkids were

playing indoorsoccer in the cultural hall.

The daughter-in-law who didn't go to dinner

with everyone so she could co-ordinate all

the decorations and food. How the whole

group kept this party a secret is beyond

my understanding.They will kill me when they see this.

None of them look like this. They are

pleasant looking in real life.

I promise they are. Aubrey, a granddaughter.

I didn't have the red-eye flash on.

The newest granddaughter.

Obviously the next set of photo are of

nothing. Real photographers don't take

pictures of nothing. And not that any

of these people are nothing--

the pictures are just bad.

Gordon and Julie looking at the book the

kids/grandkids made. Photos of their life

together. It was wonderful.

Son, Chris with his daughter. She has been

eating all kinds of things dipped in chocolate.Lizzie, Julie and Gordon's great-grandchild

with her Grandma, Lezlie their daughter.This is Lezlie's daughter-in-law. There

are three generations here. You'd think

I'd have added Julie and Gordon and made

it four, wouldn't you? Not so. Why? Because

I only think of the right thing to do a day late.

Today I thought of it. A day late.

This is one of Julie's best friends, JoAnne.

They met when they were all going to college

and lived in the same married housing.

Again, obviously. I think I can take photos

in the dark. Sorry, JoAnne.This was my favorite part of the whole

evening. Lezlie and Brennan did a skit of

their parents, going out to eat. It was

hilarious! Really nailed those two, from Julie

bringing her own water to finding a bargain

meal to taking bunches ofvitamins and quoting

how wonderful they were.

I didn't even get a photo of all the grown

children. I feel bad about that but I know

other people were taking photos too,

surely they were better than I at this.

Mormon's all over the world will recognize

this photo of the basketball floor. It is a

multi purpose room used for playing basketball,

wedding reception, overflow for Sacrament Meeting,

activities for the Scouts, Young

Men's and Young Women's organizations,

Relief Society, Primary, luncheons

after funerals, etc.

They had a slide show of photos of the time

they met and were dating to marriage,

children,the three missions they

served for the church, trips, pictures

of all the grandkids, etc.

Happy Anniversary to my sis and her hubby. What a great life you have had together and what a fine posterity you have. You have both enriched our lives and the lives of our children by the way you live, the commitments you keep and your great faith in the Savior.

We love you.

IT OCCURS TO ME....

I don't know if you read my Father's Day post or not. My disaster day with the meltdown and not even giving Phil his card. Anyway, we celebrated Father's Day the Saturday before Father's Day so he did get honored and loved. All the kids came and brought food and their kiddies. That makes him happy.

Here are the children having a treasure hunt. The rule is, you can look for every clue but the only person who can find it is the one whose name is on the last clue. If they ask for help the rest of the group can give hints. They are so good about it. When we first started treasure hunts, years ago, they would yell out, "I found it!" Now they are so subtle and don't let the "finder" know they've spotted the clue.

This one doesn't take her nose out of a book long enough to hunt. She doesn't know there are memories to be had by being a part of the "cousin group."

This is what happens when you hand the camera to one of the children and say, "take photos for a minute. His sister will kill him. Her motto is, "I don't get mad, I get even."

Self portrait. And more...I didn't post most of the self portraits.

We're sometimes a weird bunch.

Each is weird in his own way.

Sometimes weirdness is exhausting!

Some do not have wierdness. They do have the most contagious laughter on the planet. I wish you could hear her delightful laughter.

And some do have the weirdness gene. Its from Phil's side of the family, I'm sure.Some find laughter in the weirdness. She's laughing because she hid the clue on the lawn swing and they can't find it.

Some have tongue in cheek because they know what's up.

Some were merely surprised when they get darted. "All right! Who which one of you hairballs shot me?" Yes, she calls them hairballs. It's part of her charm.

Some smile, some whistle or perhaps spit, in the background.It didn't occur to me to take a photo of the delicious food. Here's the serving table without all the delicious food. Do you like how the cloth is on so perfectly straight? I'm a stickler for details, yes I am. Happy Late Father's Day dear. Your card is around here somewhere, I promise.

I love you.